In the construction of most bathrooms, it is common to position a shower nozzle mounted on the wall in an enclosure above a bath tub to thereby provide the option of a shower for the resident using the bathroom facility. In defining such enclosures, splashing water out of the enclosure is limited by the use of a sliding door, typically a translucent plastic or shatter proof glass, or more conveniently, a shower curtain. The shower curtain is ordinarily constructed and arranged to drape loosely from a set of eyelets or curtain rings which slide along the curtain rod. A set of such rings is normally mounted slidably on the shower curtain rod which is positioned normally at the height of the sprinkler head or other nozzle. The shower curtain is draped in the bath tub below so that water is not splashed out of the bath tub. Because the bath tub is below the shower nozzle, the bath tub functions to collect water which drains from the bath tub during the shower.
Many bath tubs, indeed most bath tubs, are constructed with a straight exposed side. Straight side bath tubs are constructed so that they can be positioned immediately below a straight shower rod. In the use of a straight shower rod, the drape of the shower curtain is fairly well defined by the support provided overhead by the shower rod. Since the shower rod is straight, the bath tub itself defines a companion or parallel, perhaps slightly inset, opening where the loosely hanging shower curtain can be directed. In that event, the shower curtain is positioned so that all of the splashed water is maintained in the bath tub. In a rectangular bath tub, this is accomplished through the use of a straight shower curtain rod. A straight shower curtain rod is typically provided with a central straight portion having a length approximately equal to that of the bath tub and which also includes offset end rod portions which enable connection with the tile wall which surrounds the bath tub. In that construction, the bath tub is positioned below the rod so that the shower curtain can drape in the tub. Straight shower curtain rods typically have a straight length portion with end portions which approximately conforms to the length or profile of the bath tub when viewed from above.
While functional, and even generally effective, straight shower curtain rods have the significant drawback of limiting the space available inside the shower. Particularly for larger persons or for those who prefer to have more space available to them in the shower, the relatively narrow width of the bathtub does not provide enough room for them to shower comfortably. To address this point one approach has been to form curved shower curtain rods. The curvature of the shower curtain rod increases the volume of space available to a user behind the shower curtain. But these too have the drawback of significantly reducing the amount of space in the bathroom outside of the shower. Further, for many applications, particularly with essentially square bathtubs, the curved shower rods are unsightly and the shower curtains do not hang from them in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
The present invention endeavors to overcome the problems of the prior art and provide shower curtain rod which is extendable in an outward direction from the bathtub to create more space when in use, but which may be returned to the retracted position when not in use.